Preparing For Oil Boom in Ghana - Any Lessons From Others?

 Do not neglect this simple however sagacious Ghanaian proverb which admonishes us: "If Sunday will be a extraordinary day, it is Saturday with the intention to ignite the taper."

Ghana is one of the most blessed lands in Africa. Ghana is very, very rich in mineral resources. Ghana is endowed with gold, diamond, bauxite, manganese and many others. Ghana has cocoa, timber, arable lands, and rivers, rain forests, nourished with alternating rains and illuminated by means of tropical solar shine all yr spherical.

However, Ghana has been politically mismanaged for a long term with the aid of corrupt politicians and egocentric navy adventurers who should make a ship-load of cocoa to be at large at the Atlantic Ocean. This explains why Ghana needed to be christened a Heavily Indebted Poor Country ( HIPC) within the economic records of the us of a.

In June 2007, pretty much three months after Ghana had celebrated her Golden Jubilee Anniversary, on 6th March that yr, an American oil exploration agency referred to as Kosmos Energy in collaboration with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) went to the Castle Osu in Accra to peer the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Mr John Agyekum Kufuor. In a typical Ghanaian traditional style, President Kufuor and his elders sat right down to concentrate to the medical and technological site visitors.

The leader of Kosmos Energy, Mr. James C. Musselman, who is additionally the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of that oil exploration organization, told the presidential linguist to tell the President that that they had brought properly news to him. Then the President spoke back: "In Ghanaian culture, information can not be said to be top or awful till it's miles instructed. So, therefore, I, the first public servant of the land and my presidential elders are all ears to listen the information you brought this dawn while we are yet to put a drop of water on our tongues."

It turned into then that Mr. Musselman advised the presidential linguist to inform H.E. That he and his partners had come to announce to the President that Kosmos Energy had observed oil in business amount offshore the Republic of Ghana at the West Cape Three Points Block inside the western region of the u . S . A .. At first the President seemed no longer to have heard the message nicely. So, he adjusted himself in his royal/presidential armchair, cleared his throat and commanded the presidential linguist to order the Kosmos engineer to repeat his message. Then Mr Musselman, a bit bit apprehensive, as though he had dedicated a few blunder, and with nervous voice said: "Pleeease, eerr -Okyeame, I say kindly inform His Excellency the President that our undertaking here this morning is to announce to him that our business enterprise has observed approximately 600million barrels of light oil offshore his liked us of a - Ghana.

One could have predicted the President to leap to his feet right now and start jubilating. Instead President Kufuor in addition probed: "Okyeame, ask the Kosmos engineer what is the proof that Ghana has found oil as he claims." Then Mr Musselman, put his hand in a goat pores and skin leather-based bag and brought out a bottle of some dark-brownish liquid. Some of the liquid became poured right into a plate. To a layman like this writer, the stated liquid regarded very just like pure honey. "Take this," says Mr Musselman, "gift it to H.E. That that is the proof that Ghana has oil flowing beneath the sea within the Western Region."

It become most effective after President Kufuor, has held the pattern of the oil in his very own hand and dipped his own forefinger inside the honey-like liquid and smelled it earlier than he nodded his head approvingly that Ghana has sincerely determined oil in commercial amount. Then President Kufuor repeated what he said in his broadcast to the nation at the eve of Ghana's Golden Jubilee Anniversary: "IT IS GREAT TIME TO BE GHANAIAN."

President Kufuor then expressed his personal gratitude and that of the people of Ghana to Kosmos and its companions for a exceptional activity carried out. He speedy advised that honesty, transparency and the spirit of win-win principle must manual the operations of oil companies exploring the "black gold" in Ghana. The President changed into speakme from experience in terms of the residing conditions of humans and groups wherein Ghana's purple gold which has been mined from time immemorial and the environmental degradation being bequeathed to generations but unborn.

On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, the entire the front web page of the Daily Graphic become dedicated entirely to oil discovery enterprise in Ghana. In reality, the banner headline for that day study: Test of properly yields fantastic outcomes. OIL - a hundred and twenty,000 BARRELS IN A DAY - Production anticipated to upward push in 2012. This headline become illustrated with a lead image wherein President J.A.Kufuor changed into seen congratulating Mr James Musselman, the Chief Executive Officer of Kosmos Energy, after the latter had briefed the President on the brand new improvement in the country's oil find. In the identical image have been noticed Mr George Owusu, stated to be Ghana's consultant of Kosmos, in addition to Mr Sekyere Abankwa, Board Chairman of GNPC.

The first paragraph of this lead story, written by way of Nehemia Owusu Achiaw study: "Commercial production of oil is scheduled to begin in the u . S . Inside the first area of 2010 with an preliminary output of one hundred twenty,000 barrels an afternoon."

The second most vital tale on the front web page of the paper that day, too, had to do with oil exploration in Ghana. It changed into captioned: "...41 Firms practice for exploration" The starting paragraph study: "The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation ghana celebrities (GNPC) says it has been inundated with packages from foreign corporations expressing hobby to put money into oil exploration between January 2007 and June 2008."

The motive of this piece is truely to remind the people of this united states that whether or not we adore it or not, Ghana is in transition from Oil Importing Country (OIC) to Oil Exporting Country (OEC). In different words, all being identical, there will be oil boom in Ghana, sooner than anticipated, judging from what specialists within the enterprise are saying. Naturally, this calls for jubilation. But it's far critical for us as a kingdom to tread cautiously in order that the oil locate in Ghana may be a blessing and no longer a curse.

For now this author will handiest like to cite two oil producing countries in Africa specifically, Nigeria and Libya and alert Ghanaians to take note of how the ones countries are managing their oil growth for the gain of their people. It seems some thing isn't being completed properly in the control of the oil industry in Nigeria. As a end result the delta oil wealthy place is being degraded environmentally. Media reviews imply that the poverty level of humans residing in that oil wealthy vicinity in Nigeria is not anything to write domestic about. Why? No in addition remarks for now.

On the other hand, it seems Libya is doing some thing worthy of emulating by means of Ghana. This creator has learned that there's no unmarried school-going-toddler in Libya who isn't always in school. That now not a single person citizen of that u . S . A . Has no rental for himself or herself. In fact, Libya is a rustic placed within the center of a wilderness in northern part of Africa. But Libya has been able to create an synthetic river of lots of kilometers lengthy and is in the system of remodeling the desert right into a virgin rain forest area through irrigation schemes. How are Ghanaians getting ready for oil boom in Ghana? Are they mastering any lessons from others?